


Safe and Sound

by TheMikeWheelers (jasongracefully)



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-05
Updated: 2016-11-05
Packaged: 2018-08-29 06:44:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8479246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jasongracefully/pseuds/TheMikeWheelers
Summary: It's been a year, but El is back. Reunion fic.





	

How El ended up in this spot was already a memory, because right now she was shaking on the Byers’ couch, wearing a jacket from Chief Hopper, and surrounded by him and Joyce Byers.

It had been almost a year since she'd disappeared, yet here she was, practically a miracle. 

The two adults were interrogating her, but she didn't respond. The memories of her past year not letting any words come out. 

The sight of the two in front of her reminded her of one thing though, the similar situation back a year earlier with Dustin, Lucas, and Mike. They too were questioning her, soaked from the rain on the stormy November night. 

El sat in silence, too preoccupied in her fears and thoughts to register all they were saying to her. 

It wasn't until the noise of a door slamming knocked her into reality. She turned so quickly she cracked her neck, expecting the worst to come into the house. 

It wasn't the worst though, it was just a young boy. He was probably around her age, wearing an orange vest and a face full of confusion. 

She recognized him, despite never meeting him before. It was Will, the boy that went missing into the Upside Down the previous year. 

Will walked up cautiously, sensing the urgency in the room.

“Mom,” he started, mind racing with questions, “Who is this?”

Joyce didn't answer, simple pulling him into a hug and whispering “Sweetie.”

That's when it all clicked for Will. The mysterious girl, the short hair, the terror across her face. He knew exactly who she was. 

“Is that-?” He didn't dare say her name out loud.

Joyce gave a small smile and nodded her head.

El’s mind was racing. Will knew who she was. Did the boys tell him about her? Did they even remember her?

She got so lost in thought again when she looked up Will wasn't there, at least for a second. Then he was back, holding a walkie talkie up to him.

“Guys come over to my house right now. It's important. Over” 

She then heard the familiar voice of Dustin Henderson ring back, “Dude it's past midnight and we have school tomorrow. What do you want? Over.”

“My mom has a surprise. Can't tell you what it is but it's super important you come here right away. Over”

“There's no way my parents are gonna let me bike over this late! They haven't for a year! Over!” This time El's other friend, Lucas, was giving his input. 

“Will just tell us what's the big deal,” El’s heart stop at this. Her eyes widened, only slightly, and she grasped onto every word, silently hoping it really was him, though she didn't know who else it could be, “You're gonna need to tell us a reason before we bike all the way to your house at 12:38am! Over.”

El's heart was racing now. It really was him, it was Mike. Will was trying to get Mike over to see her. 

Will gave his mom a look, she took the Supercom into her hands, “It's Mrs. Byers. Chief Hopper is going to come pick you up and bring you over here, tell your parents it's important. Over and out.”

She pushed the antenna down before any of them could question why the chief of police would be coming for them. 

Hopper stood up at that, saying he would be back shortly. He was soon gone, off the bring Will's friends to the house.

It was silent for a few moments, no one knowing quite what to say. 

Will eventually held his hand out awkwardly. “I'm Will. I heard a lot about you.” 

Eleven cautiously reached out for his hand and shook it. 

Joyce say next to her, patting her on her shoulder. Will went to go get some clothes to give her, noticing the tattered once-pink dress she was wearing.

El was obviously still terrified, but she was back in Hawkins, the only kind place she ever knew. She was able to release some of the tension inside her. Joyce had put her arm around her maternally and she felt safe, if just for a moment. 

Lights started to shine outside, the police car had pulled into the driveway. Even within the house they could hear the noisy boys outside, from the curiosity in their voices they knew Hopper hadn't told them what was going on yet. 

Will came back in the room, dropping some folded clothes onto a chair and rushing to open the door. The boys piled in and there was a rush of “What's going on?”s until they saw the girl sitting on the couch. 

Everything was silent. They boys were shellshocked, not knowing what to say. This probably lasted only a moment, but to them it was an eternity, their entire worlds were crashing down. 

The silence was broken by Lucas and Dustin running over to see her. They started with a million questions, where she was, what had happened ,if she's okay. They were loud, but for once that didn't scare her. These were her friends, and she was back. El cracked the smallest hint of a smile.

She was pulled by Dustin into a group hug, and when she looked over Lucas’s shoulder she saw who was standing at the door. 

Mike's mouth was agape, he stood in the same shocked position as when he saw her. He didn't dare go towards her, scared she would simply disappear again. He watched her in a trance, unbelieving that she could really be back. 

El's smile faded when she saw him, confused as why he wasn't coming over as well. She pulled away from the hug and looked at him with concern. 

For the first time that night she let out a whisper, only a single word, but her fear had disappeared at the sight of him standing by the door. 

“Mike.”

And with that the trance was broken, he ran over to pull her into a tight hug, clinging on as if she'd disappear any second. Lucas and Dustin joined in as well, and the four friends were all together once again. 

The night went quickly after that, the boys insisted on catching El up on everything she'd missed the last year. Joyce and Hopper wanted to find out more on where she'd been, but let her have a night of peace with the boys. 

Lucas and Dustin called their parents, said they were going to sleep over and Will's house and hung up before they could be told no. 

When Mike dialed in his home’s number it rang twice until Nancy answered. Mike planned on just saying he was going to spent the night at Will’s, but upon hearing his sister’s voice he could only let out two words, “She's back.”

Mike spent the rest of the night trying to swallow his shock. If someone told him this morning that the girl he loved would be coming back he would have just shut out the idea. Throwing away all hope, not wanting to get hurt. 

Yet there she was, right in front of him. Smiling along to all the stories his friends were telling her. They'd let her take the couch, and the boys were sleeping on the floor beneath her. 

Dustin fell asleep first, Lucas and Will following shortly after. Mike and El were the only ones still awake, sitting in silence. 

Eventually Eleven rolled onto her side, and Mike looked up at her. 

“I missed you,” she said quietly, not wanting to wake the other boys. 

Mike wanted to say the same back to her, but a simple phrase couldn't cover his feelings. He had thought of her every night when he fell asleep, nightmares plagued him for months. He was terrified she was dead, if anyone asked, he was in denial she was gone, but deep down he felt like a powerless young boy whose entire world was just ripped away from him. 

No day was the same since she left, every moment was stricken with fear and nostalgia. Even when he was happy it was interrupted by the ache of his heart, imagining how much better it would be if El was there. Nothing was the same anymore. 

In just a few short days, El had become everything to him. He couldn't live without her. 

She was his home, and he was homesick. 

His brain didn't know how to put all those emotions into words, let alone words she'd know. So instead he reached out for her hand and squeezed it. 

“You're home now. That's what matters.” 

She smiled at that, a genuine smile for once, “Yeah. Home.”

It went silent again, the two just looked at each other, thinking of all the emotions they didn't know how to say out loud. 

Mike fell asleep shortly, all the exhaustion kept inside him for the past year slowly leaving his body. For the first night in a long time, Mike had a peaceful sleep. No nightmares, no fear, no heartbreak. It was the first night in a while where everything was all okay. 

El, on the other hand, may be home, but she wasn't free of all the memories she'd been holding onto. Images of the Upside Down, of the lab, of all the terror she'd endured flashed across her mind. 

Mike woke up with a start when he felt like all the bones in his hand were being crushed. El's hand was still clutching onto his, she was shaking slightly in her sleep. 

“El! El!” He started to shake her hand to wake her. He had bolted off his spot on the ground, now standing next to her. He rubbed his thumb over her hand, and tried to hold it reassuringly. 

Suddenly her eyes flashed open. Her heart was racing, and it took her a moment to realize where she was, she was safe and a pair of concerned eyes were looking down at her. 

She took a few deep breaths and felt wet tears start to make their way down her face. 

“Hey,” Mike spoke gently, “It's all okay. You're safe. It's okay.” 

She started to breath heavily, unable to hear anything but the screams in her mind of the nightmare. 

“I don't know what happened to you, but you're fine. We all are. It's over.”

She frantically shook her head, “It's not over. Bad. Happening again.” 

She pulled him down towards her, and hugged him. She squeezed his back so tight he thought it might break, but didn't even hesitate to hug her back. 

She cried into his shoulder quietly. Mike felt a wave of emotion pass over him, it wasn't fair. He hated to see her cry. He didn't know what had happened to her, but he knew it must be terrible. He hated to think about her going through any kind of pain. 

He felt his cheeks start to get wet with tears and pulled out of the hug. He started to ramble on, all the feelings he’d felt coming out. 

“I- I was scared you were dead,” Tears were practically a waterfall now, “I thought I might never see you again. That you were gone for good.” 

El looked up at him, but he kept going. 

“It hurt so much. But you're back now, and I'm not gonna let you leave ever again. You're okay, and whatever you went through, you got through it.”

She wiped her face, a wave of emotion passing through her, making her heart start to speed up. 

“You're safe. We're all safe.” Mike reassured her, “Close your eyes. Get some sleep, it's all gonna be better tomorrow.”

El gave him a weak smile and he squeezed her hand. Soon enough she felt her heart slow down and her breath to return to normal. Sleepiness overtook her, and she descended into a peaceful rest. 

Mike watched over her for a while, but soon fatigue took him too. He fell asleep, mind still racing. 

But little did he know, they weren't safe. El was right, it wasn't over. Bad things were happening right outside. Pretty soon all their worst fears would come true. 

But right now, they were stuck in a blissful naivety.


End file.
